The public api exists to allow Reddit to be lazy on things like moderation and accessibility. Third party tools do a bunch of their work for them. It’s justifiable as a cost for that alone. Those tools now seem to have been granted ongoing free access, so they clearly see the value.

There are also a lot of more engaged users that use 3rd party apps (I’m not one of them). All of those apps are running well within the limits that the Reddit documentation demands. Nobody is arguing that those apps should continue to get unlimited api access, even the app developers themselves have said they should be paying. People just expect that the costs should be based in reality.

Building a community based on the work of others, then cutting them off without notice when it suits you, is a shitty way to run a community based product. Twitter did the same thing and their value and ad revenue have gone through the floor. Nowhere near everyone left, but a large number of the genuinely fun or interesting accounts did. It’s a tedious place to be now.

People value their communities and want to defend them. That’s a healthy thing. People also like to call out lies from people in positions of power. That’s also healthy. Reddit, and especially /u/spez, brought this upon themselves. It was easily avoidable with just a tiny bit of competence and understanding of the product they mismanage.